Maria is a 35-year-old woman who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury in a car accident six months ago. She was previously independent, working as a marketing professional and living with her spouse. After a prolonged hospital stay, Maria is currently at an inpatient rehab facility. She presents with significant motor impairments on her right side, cognitive-communication challenges (especially with attention and memory), and severely reduced speech intelligibility due to apraxia and dysarthria. Maria can write with her left hand but tires easily. She uses facial expressions, limited vocalizations, and gestures to communicate basic needs. Her spouse reports that Maria becomes frustrated when she’s misunderstood, especially when trying to share opinions or engage in conversation. The rehabilitation team is considering AAC supports to improve Maria’s expressive communication. Why is it important to provide Maria with a robust AAC system, even if she currently uses gestures and writing?

In the AAC Intervention for Adults with Acquired Physical Impairments course, the instructor discussed voice banking. What is the purpose of voice banking in AAC?

Liam is a 4-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who has limited speech abilities. He can vocalize and gesture but does not consistently produce intelligible words. He enjoys playing with his toy animals, watching farm videos, and looking at family photo albums. Liam’s parents report that he understands much of what is said to him and can follow simple directions. At home, they often interpret his gestures and vocalizations to meet his needs. Liam attends preschool and his teachers note that he is social but struggles to participate in group activities because he cannot express himself clearly. An AAC evaluation was conducted, and the team is exploring options to support Liam’s expressive communication. They want to build on his strengths and interests while encouraging interaction across home and school environments. What is one opportunity barrier you might face when implementing the AAC system?

is a strategy to support AAC users in communicating and can include a communication partner speaking while pointing to symbols or words on the AAC device.

List two disadvantages of high-tech communication systems.

Which of the following best describes Visual Scene Displays in AAC?

The students who are our most successful AAC users often have language abilities that are under-developed.

Which RBC inclusion below represents denatured hemoglobin attaching to the cell membrane and then appears as a protruding area?

Two point charges are on the x-axis.  Charge q1 = 5.00 uC is at the origin and q2 = -3.00 uC is at x = 0.350 m.  a)  Find the magnitude of the electric field at a distance of 0.450 m directly above q2.

A 3.00 uC point charge is released from rest 0.450 m away from a 5.00 uC point charge.  If the 3.00 uC point charge has a mass of 0.002 kg,  what is its initial acceleration? Ignore gravity.